Zentangle patterns, artwork and more

One String to rule them all

Today I took the time to capture progress pictures of my “One String to rule them all“. My goal is to create my own pattern library where I can explore each pattern in depth. Drawing a pattern once or twice doesn’t give a pattern enough credit. Every single pattern has so many possibilities and I just love playing with patterns.

I want to create a mono-tangle (using just one single pattern on a tile) while exploring how this pattern will perform when tangled as a ribbon, a filler, and in the round. What is happening when it is tangled on black background?

Here is my very first version of the ‘String to rule them all“.

I used the outline of my pencil sharpener to get that nice round shape. It will be great to see how the pattern looks when drawn in the round. The drop shape will show me what I can do if I try to use the pattern as a filler. And finally, right across I drew a ribbon.

With a thick marker, I outlined the shapes….

… and used the nice fat brush tip from my Chameleon Alcohol Ink Pens to fill in the entire space in black. This was quickly done and the pen provides a nice black base where individual strokes cannot be seen. I like that – black tile with white spaces to tangle.

Since I cannot locate the box that contains my precious Copic markers, I purchased a few cheap alcohol based markers. They are called ‘stylefile marker‘ and come in 124 colors. And yes, they are only available in Europe at the moment. This post is not about comparing markers though. I am sure that most brands perform in a similar fashion. I filled the various shapes in different colors. To ensure that I can still add shading later on, I used the lightest colors I had. On the drop shape, you can see what happens when you add a second layer of exactly the same pen. This means the more layers, the darker the shade. No need to buy 5 different shades of the same color, if you can achieve the same result by simply adding layer after layer! One mistake I made though .. I should have erased the string lines. Once covered with marker, the pencil line cannot be removed.

Time to tangle! I pick Shattuck – a pattern that has so many different faces! It’s been the first pattern introduced in the Go-To Pattern Library. Shattuck in the round is fun. Just look what happens when everything ends in a single center point!

Next came the ribbon with curved Shattuck. Yeah, pretty boring – for now!

The drop shape .. well, I like that! Adding contrast with the stripes and by leaving a gap between the sections.

Now comes the fun part: Shading – I hate spending forever on shading. When I am done tangling, I want to move on to the next tile. Shading with a marker is a lot quicker and very effective! First I outlined all lines where they meet at a right angle. Then I applied a second and third layer of the very same marker I used for the background. Instant shading in the correct color!

Finally, I added a ribbon of Shattuck with a white Uni-ball Signo. To add some highlights, I smudged a bit of aquarelle white pencil and turned the empty round shape into a gem. And just to see how it would look, I added one stripe with the Derwent Graphik Line Painter. To me, that is still the best pen to use on black paper!

This string is pretty good for exploring a pattern, even though there is so much more that Shattuck is capable of!

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6 thoughts on “One String to rule them all”

Ina, what a wonderful way to explore a single pattern, all on one tile. It serves as a perfect reference tool as well. I may have to borrow your idea and see what happens! Thank you for the inspiration.